My Journey To Cannabis

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I have been practicing medicine for over 20 years, and deciding to offer cannabis as a solution for my patients was an easy choice. Offering a natural choice is something I can proudly say that I do, and not to mention never having to deal with insurance is a huge plus.

Having a medical marijuana clinic is nothing like you would expect; you have more time in the day to see patients, and more time for yourself. There are a few key elements that really help to ease the transition.

I started this blog for all of you out there that are teetering on the edge. My goal is to give you guys the advantages that I had to find out the hard way. Setting up shop is not a breeze, and letting patients know that you exist is just as trying. I am excited to begin, and hopefully when the time comes, you will make the transition easier than me.

Connecting With Patients

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Connecting to patients is a lot easier than it once was. It only takes a few minutes a day, and your patients will be happier and more likely to pay you a visit when it comes time to renew.

The two major means of social networking are Twitter and Facebook. To ensure that you reach the maximum number of patients, I encourage you to participate in both. If you have not used either of these it can feel daunting at first. Think of Twitter as a massive chat in which everyone is involved at the same time. Twitter allows you to filter that chat by using hash tags (#), and by “Following” certain people. Twitter allows you two major things; first the ability to connect and chat with current patients, and secondly it allows you to easily find new patients. If you use Twitter often, you will start to notice all of the advertising on the site. That is something you must try and refrain from doing. Instead, in your bio put a little info about what your clinic is up to, and place a link to your website. If you treat your followers like actual patients instead of income you will have much better results.

Facebook is a little different. It is a little more difficult to gather friends on this network. Facebook limits you to only speaking with people that you directly are friends with. You can get around this a little, by submitting Polls for users to participate in. These can be shared across the network with people that are not following you, but it still does not get your name out there… just the poll. If you are savvy, you can increase your fan base by being very active on the site. You must post a lot of “Status” updates, and constantly be on the prowl for new friends. Unlike Twitter, people on Facebook are a lot more selective on whom they will friend. This can be a difficult hurdle to get over. I would first try connecting to people you know, the cannabis industry, and then begin a ramp up acquiring new friends.


All of this may sound very overwhelming at first, but it is a must. Interacting with patients is necessary, and you will find that many physicians heavily neglect this. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) reports that in California alone there are 202,4161 medical marijuana patients. Because California does not require medical marijuana users to register with the state, this is just an estimate. The real number could be double that of the quote.

For me it came down to offering something to my patients that other physicians did not offer. I enjoy speaking with them. I like getting to know the people I am helping. In the end it is beneficial for both parties.

Magazine and Newspaper Advertising Advice

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I often advertise in marijuana related magazines and local newspapers. I find that these do a great job at bringing people in the door, but in the long run my website has brought far greater. I would suggest that you run a few ads testing out different designs and pricing. You are going to see a lot of competitors advertising right along with you, and do not be discouraged if you happen to price yourself higher than the rest. You may be surprised at how this technique may be beneficial in the long run. Pricing higher than others will keep away the shady patients, and give your clinic a more prestigious feel.

I have had countless patients tell me about how they first when to the medical marijuana doctor with the $29 recommendations, and how it ended up being a scam. These poor individuals have been burned, and will most likely never take a chance on these “affordable” clinics. To help bring in patients on a budget, you can offer special discounts and so forth. At my clinic, we offer discounts for seniors, disabled, vets, and so forth.

Deciding on what your ad should look like is difficult. If you have a theme for your clinic then I would suggest to keep with it. Myself, I am not the best at design, and after hearing some good things about WeedGopher, I took a chance and hired them. I am very happy with the results.

If you still feel lost about where to begin, take a look below to find some examples of marijuana advertising.

Business Card Template

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If you do not have a graphic designer at your disposal, you may find yourself without attractive looking business cards. While custom cards are nice, templates will do the job just fine.

After you have decided on what your cards are going to be you will need to get them printed. There are lots of options for this. I choose to order mine from a local company, but you can easily use any online printing company (Vistaprint, Smartpress, or even Staples.Com). I like using places like Staples or Fedex when I am in a pinch for more. They offer same day printing at a reasonable rate. Check out Retail Me Not to find some coupons before buying. I tend to say a lot this way.

Below you will find a simple template. These are not the most amazing business cards, but they are simple and cheap to print.

You can download the PSD below:
Business Card Template

Green Business Cards

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Red Business Cards

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Blue Business Cards

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Orange Business Cards

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You can download the PSD below:
Business Card Template

Spread The Word

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Getting traffic into the clinic was a difficult problem to address. We tried many different, and costly, things. One of the most successful purchases was a website. Word of mouth will only get you so far, and having a location for people to easily find you and read about your clinic is a must.

A few of the ideas that we pursued, and still pursue:

Still after trying all of these methods, the one that has paid off the most is the website. We receive more traffic from that one resource than any other combined. I could be a statistical outlier, but I feel that is not the case. I engage the visitor with an active blog, reply to all patient emails, and we are always offing specials to the patients on our site.

A lot of what I did was trial and error. I expect that you will do the same. When you find what does work for you, I suggest that you continue it, and still be open to other methods. The cannabis industry is growing, and new companies are offering services that I would have never considered necessary. Keeping an open mind has allowed me to keep my waiting room full.